I hate to see him go.
O'Neal, 39 leaves a basketball legacy that few ever have. A 19 season NBA career that spanned four different U.S. presidents, began during Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls dominance and ended in the midst of LeBron James' evolution, has ended. More importantly, O'Neal will forever remain one-of-a-kind; a true original in size, skill and personality and the NBA has lost one of its most significant figures.
I remember so vividly the Spring of 1992 when the Bulls were dominating the league, led by the 29-year old Jordan. They were shooting for their 2nd straight NBA title while incessant talk of Shaq's soon-to-be pro career permeated the hoops landscape. The '92 NBA Draft was dubbed "The Shaq Sweepstakes" because the man was a 20-year old mountain of force blended stunningly with agility, athleticism and skill. So, whichever team earned the good fortune of winning the draft lottery would be immeasurably blessed with endless basketball success for years.
In theory.
As it were, Shaq was drafted by the three year old franchise, the Orlando Magic and immediately made headlines for his contract ($39.9 million/7 years), sheer size (7'1" 315 pounds) and nightly dominance on the court. He was unstoppable in the paint and was a consistently active presence off the ball which would often lead to a lob pass from a teammate and a monstrous slam dunk from him. Twice during his rookie season, O'Neal "ridiculed" a basketball hoop. He dunked so hard one time, it shattered the backboard. Another time, on a follow dunk, the entire basket support folded to the ground from his impact.
Ah, his impact.
O'Neal was joined in his second season by Penny Hardaway, a multi-talented guard from Memphis State. Together as a tandem, Shaq and Penny were a seemingly demoralizing pair for opponents. Even though they were very young and inexperienced, they made the Magic very intimidating. By O'Neal's 3rd season, the team advanced to the NBA Finals but were overwhelmed in a sweep by Hakeem Olajuwon and the eventual two-time champion Houston Rockets. This served as a sobering lesson for Shaq, but it wasn't enough to avert his departure from the team after the 1995-96 season. During the summer of 1996, there had been plenty of talk about O'Neal possibly going to the L.A. Lakers, something that didn't seem plausible to me. Soon, it had become a stunning reality and O'Neal was now part of another interesting dynamic; teaming with just drafted prep star Kobe Bryant.
Though Bryant needed about three seasons of pro ball to evolve into a true star player, he was always at odds with Shaq. Both men were naturally gifted and possessed gigantic egos, but nothing could derail the Lakers' ascension to NBA champions in 2000. That was Shaq's tour-de-force season; he turned in a 61 point, 22 rebound masterpiece on his 28th birthday that season and was an easy choice for league MVP with a nearly 30 point, 14 rebound per game average.
Of course, L.A. won the title again in 2001 and 2002 but when they went for an almost never heard of "four-peat" in the '02-'03 season, Bryant had become too singularly great a player. In other words, the team was no longer able to function the way it needed to in order to win titles. O'Neal always should've been the featured player on offense, not Kobe. That disconnect with coach Phil Jackson's philosophy contributed greatly to their '03 Conference semifinals meltdown to the Spurs and to their flame-out in the 2004 NBA Finals.
I was surprised to see Shaq leave L.A. in the summer of '04 for the Miami Heat. I understand that Bryant was a younger superstar with a much more tenacious work ethic. But I can't help wondering if better communication would have fixed the dissension between the two stars.
Who knows?
By the time Shaq joined the Heat, he was on the downside of his career. He turned 33 years old during the season, but still managed some great numbers. Even still, his truly transcendent days were over and he soon ceded the spotlight to yet another megastar upstart; Dwyane Wade. It was Wade that dominated the 2006 NBA Finals while Shaq could no longer dominate the lane on his usual myriad of high percentage shots. From then on, O'Neal became less and less effective until he was no longer a star. He ended his career by playing for three more teams in a very marginalized role, with the exception of the '08-'09 season in Phoenix when he experienced a rebirth of sorts.
All in all, O'Neal is a true all-time great. He is certainly top 5 amongst centers and dare I say, maybe even top 3. Yes, he focused too much on doing rap albums and bad movies in his early years and his free throw shooting was insanely awful. He missed many games to injury and often didn't keep himself in proper shape. But in spite of all that, Shaq changed the game and revolutionalized it. His incredible showmanship, outrageous wit and one-of-a-kind sense of humor enhanced his status and uniqueness. He was unassailable on the court for about 13 or 14 years, and that is huge. He was giving and humble, all while being tough and at times impossible. But more than anything else, Shaquille O'Neal was a true legend.
And that's for all time.
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